Sustainability must be a lived experience rooted in indigenous wisdom: Rajendra Singh of Tarun Bharat Sangh

In his keynote address, at the 1st Yuva Sustainability Conference on Sustainability Storytelling for Green India, Waterman Rajendra Singh said, “Sustainability should be a lived experience”. The recipient of the Magsaysay Award and the Stockholm Water Prize urged participants to reconnect with indigenous knowledge systems, highlighting their relevance in addressing today’s environmental and water challenges.The 1st Yuva Sustainability Conference titled ‘Sustainability Storytelling for Green India: A Movement to Empower Youth’ was organised by the Voices of Bharat: Yuva for Sustainability initiative in Jaipur on 21 July. The conference kickstarted the youth movement to create mass environmental awareness and catalyse climate action The initiative was launched earlier by Rajasthan Chief Minister Sh Bhajan Lal Sharma. The initiative aligns with India’s broader environmental and climate commitments, including Mission Life, the Panchamrit targets, Net Zero goals, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Speakers at the conference included educationists, media persons and corporate leaders like Sudhi Rajiv, Vice-Chancellor, Hardier Joshi University of Journalism and Mass Communication; Prof Rajeev Jain, Former Vice Chancellor, University of Rajasthan; Dr Rashmi Chaturvedi, Director, Kanoria PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya; and Dr Seema Agrawal, Principal, Kanoria PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya. Speakers from the corporate sector included Dr K L Jain, President, Rajasthan Chamber of Commerce & Industry ;Pratyush Thakur, India Country Head, Blueleaf Energy; Ganesh Kaliyaperumal, Director, Sustainability & Corporate Affairs, Bisleri International Pvt Ltd ; Neeru Dhawan, Head of Global Communication, UFlex Group , and Priyanka Sharma, Head of Operations – Nand Ghar, Vedanta. Mediapersons like Ms Naina Gautam, Editor & Podcaster, Sustainability Karma; Sh Manish K Sharma, Associate Director, Adglobal 360 India Pvt. Ltd.; Dr Arvind Kalia, National Head, Mentoring, Rajasthan Patrika; Sh Amit Sharma, State Video Head, Dainik Bhaskar; and Sh Purushottam Divakar, Photo Journalist, India Today Group, also participated in a panel discussion. Other speakers included Rajiv Tikoo and Kalyan Kothar/Nek M Kothari, Convenor & Co-Convenor, Voices of Bharat, Yuva for Sustainability, and Dr. Mohita Sharma, Head, Department of Sociology, Kanoria PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya. In this endeavour, the Voices of Bharat: Yuva for Sustainability initiative is partnering with educational institutions like Central University of Kashmir, Srinagar, J&K; IIMT University; Institute of Event Management; Kanoria PG Mahila Mahavidyalaya; Miranda House College, University of Delhi; Vedic Kanya PG College; and Vishvakarma Skills University.